1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composition for preventing or treating dementia containing Fructus Mume extract.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dementia is diagnosed when memory disorder is so severe as to bring difficulty in daily life including work, social life, and personal relationship with accompanying at least one of the following 4 symptoms; speech disorder, disorientation, decline of calculation ability, and character & emotional changes. Dementia is a pathological symptom which should be distinguished from normal aging. Dementia is divided into Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and other dementias caused by alcoholism, trauma and sequela of Parkinson's disease, according to the cause. Vascular dementia is generally caused by cerebral infraction or stroke, which causes memory loss due to the brain cell damage around the onset region. In the meantime, Alzheimer's disease is a kind of degenerative brain diseases caused by brain cell destruction. In the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, such symptoms as hypomnesia, character change, and decline of thinking ability are shown and the progress is slow. However, most of Alzheimer's patients die of pneumonia in 8-10 years from the onset of the disease. According to the recent epidemiological studies, the risk factors for the cerebrovascular diseases including hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and heart disease can increase the incidence rate of not only vascular dementia but also Alzheimer's disease. However, the exact cause or treatment method of dementia has not been developed, yet.
The therapeutic agents for dementia are classified according to the lesion and cause of the disease, which are exemplified by acetylcholine esterase inhibitors, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, hormone formulations, cholesterol lowering agents, and β-amyloid blockers, etc. The said acetylcholine esterase increases the activity of cholinergic neurotransmitter system remaining undestroyed so as to recover the damaged cognitive function even it partially.
Dementia patients are estimated approximately 400,000 in 2008. Owing to rapid aging, it seems that the number of dementia patients will be increased to 461,000 in 2010 and 693,000 in 2020. As the population of dementia patients grows, the domestic market for dementia drugs makes rapid increasing curve and the volume is already as big as over 130 billion Korean Won.
Fructus Mume is a medicinal ingredient prepared by the following processes: unripe fruits of Prunus mume are placed in a pot and then closed with a lid; and the pot is completely sealed with mud, which is heated until the fruits turn black. Fructus Mume is effective in eliminating old chronic cough and phlegm and in quenching thirst and in relieving the feeling of pressure in chest and digestion as well. In addition, Fructus Mume is known to have immune enhancing activity, anti-bacterial activity, and hypoglycemic effect. There are some studies to disclose the effect of Fructus Mume: Pharmacentical extracts from Mume Fructus effective for the inhibition of urease activity of Helicobacter pylori epithelial cells of stomach (Korean Patent Publication No. 2006-0040254), Analgesic activity of sitosterol-O-D-glucose isolated from Mume Fructus extract (Korean Patent Publication No. 1998-0043925), and Composition for enhancing blood circulation containing the extract or fraction of Prunus Mume as an active ingredient (Korean Patent Publication No. 2010-0042414). Another report says that modified SAGUNZA-TANG comprising the extracts of Maesil (Prunus mume), Polygonatum odoratum, Galgeun (Pueraria radix), and Cinnamomi cortex is effective in preventing and treating dementia (Pharmaceutical composition containing the modified SAGUNZA-TANG which is effective in improvement of anti-stress and brain function, Korean Patent Publication No. 2005-0035906). It is known that the Maesil (Prunus mume) extract in the said modified SAGUNZA-TANG is responsible for the acceleration of digestion and carbohydrate metabolism to make energy (glucose) supply to brain smooth to increase brain activity. The Maesil (Prunus mume) extract therein also plays a role in enhancing taste and flavor with its unique sour taste. However, there is no evidence that Maesil (Prunus mume) extract is effective in preventing and treating dementia. Studies have not been made on the hippocampal damage recovery activity of Fructus Mume extract processed from Maesil (Prunus mume).
Therefore, the present inventors studied on the effect of Fructus Mume extract and accordingly confirmed that the Fructus Mume extract was effective in improving spatial recognition ability and in normalizing hippocampal damage in a vascular dementia animal model, leading to the completion of this invention by further confirming that the Fructus Mume extract could be effectively used as an active ingredient for a composition for preventing or treating dementia.